Philadelphia was fortunate to be spared the brunt of “Superstorm Sandy”

Compared to our neighbors to the East and North, Philadelphia was fortunate to be spared the brunt of “Superstorm Sandy”. But, being a neighborhood filled with beautiful old trees, we did have some problems when several of those trees came crashing down onto wires. PECO workers sprang into action, and most of the neighborhood was back to normal relatively quickly.

The storm caused some event cancellations in the community. We are trying to keep our website calendar (www.eastmountairy.org) up to date.

The memorial service for Rev. Andrew “Jack” White that had been scheduled for the last week in October will now take place onTuesday, 11/27th at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, at 6 PM. Rev. White was a dedicated community activist for many years, and devoted many volunteer hours to EMAN.

The City’s bagged leaf collection got underway last week, and will continue until December 14th. Leaves that are in biodegradable brown paper leaf bags (widely available at many food markets and at most hardware and home improvement stores) will be collected for recycling/mulching. The collections will take place on your regular trash day. Leaves that are in plastic trash bags will not be recycled; they’ll be trashed.

Besides putting the leaves to good use as mulch and compost and keeping them out of the waste stream, this program also helps get the street cleared of fallen leaves that get packed down in gutters, clog drainage systems, become slippery when it rains, etc.

After the storm and the stormy election, many of us were ready to get rid of some stress with friends and neighbors. The 2ndAnnual “Cookin’ With WHO?” competition was a great way to do that! There was a ton of delicious food, an interesting assortment of silent auction items donated by our very generous community businesses, restaurants and artists, good-natured competition among the chefs and a fun and friendly environment.

This year’s winner was Jane Maloney, the new Executive Director of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement.

The event raises funds for 3 community nonprofit organizations that are physically based in East Mt. Airy, but reach beyond the neighborhood…………….the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and East Mt. Airy Neighbors.

As part of a city-wide reorganization, the 14th Police District has a new leader. We welcome Captain John Fleming to the neighborhood, and look forward to meeting with him and to continuing our cooperative and important relationship with the 14th.

Our best wishes go with former Captain Joel Dales, who was promoted to Inspector and will be with the Standards and Accountability Unit. His work here was deeply appreciated!

This Thursday, 11/15th, is the deadline for submitting yourHomestead Exemption forms to the City. You are eligible for this program, which reduces the taxable assessed value of your home, if you own and reside in your house. You should have received a form in the mail. If you didn’t, go to www.opa.phila.gov or call the Homestead Hotline at 215-686-6488.

Mt. Airy Presbyterian Church (Germantown Ave. at Mt. Pleasant Ave.), will be holding its annual Thanksgiving Service and Potluck on Wednesday, 11/21st. Attendees are asked to bring canned goods for the church’s community food pantry if able to do so. The dinner is free. An offering will be taken, with donations to support the capital campaign to update the roof and maintain facilities.

Dinner starts at 6 PM. A music-led service of thanksgiving will follow at 7:30. To RSVP, call 215-267-1303 or e-mail toadmin@mapresby.org

You can help someone have a happier Thanksgiving (and December holidays) with a donation to a Food Drive. Dr. Brett Cardonick (CardonickChiropractic) is working with the Unitarian Universalist OutreachProgram to provide non-perishable items (both food and paper products) for people in need. Donations can be brought to Dr. Cardonick’s office, at 23 E. Durham St. (215-242-8632), through 12/31st. In exchange for your generosity, you can receive a special screening (posture check, computerized spinal muscle screening, or 10 minute hydrobed session).

In response to queries, yes, EMAN will be holding a Christmas Tree Recycling event again this season! Last Christmas, we saved over 200 trees from the landfill, and supplied mulch for neighborhood community gardens. (The event also raised much-needed money for operating expenses.) We are in the process of firming up the date, and will let you know soon. We’ll be looking for volunteers, too! (It’s a great opportunity for high school students to get community service hours.)

ASAP, the city’s After School Activities Partnership, is hoping to set up activities in local schools. Working with the School District, the Free Library and the Department of Recreation, ASAP offersfree Scrabble, Chess, Drama and Debateclubs. Club leaders receive training, instructional materials, activity supplies and ongoing ASAP support.

These activities not only support academic achievement and student attendance at school, but also provide supervised enrichment activities during those afterschool hours that can be dangerous forthe youth in our community. Many of the student participants have gone on to city and state-wide competitions.

Volunteers will be trained, and need to commit to one afternoon a week, in a local school, library, rec center, house of worship or other location that has an afterschool program. (The club meets for an hour, with a little prep and “clean-up” time.) East Mt. Airy has an amazing population of residents who care about our kids.

If you’re interested, visit www.phillyasap.org to learn more about the programs, or call 215-545-2727.

Even though the election is over, certain phrases are etched into our brains, among them “energizing the base”. YOU are EMAN’s “base”. We rely on your support, through memberships and donations, through volunteering for activities, attending events, etc.

Because we have a rolling membership system, you can join EMAN at any time of year. Check out our website for membership info (www.eastmountairy.org) or e-mail the office (info@eastmountairy.org) and we’ll mail you a form.

Our meetings are generally on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 at the EMAN Office, except in cases like this month, when the meeting was postponed a week due to the presidential election. Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be on Tuesday, December 4th.

Everyone at EMAN would like to express our thanks to so many people……….our members, our volunteers, our partners in the business community, our sister community organizations, our local communities of faith, the local press (both print and electronic), our neighborhood police and firefighters, and too many others to list…………We appreciate everything you all do for the community.
And we wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!